Side-loading hearse



Oct. 20, 1936. F. HARRIS. JR

SIDE LOADING HEARSE Filed Feb. 3, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 20, 1936. F. HARRIS. JR

SIDE LOADING HEARSEV Filed Feb. 3, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 20, 1936 UNTE STAT PATENT OFFICE SIDE-LOADING HEARSE Ford Harris, J12, Los Angelcs, Califl, assignor to Big Rock Ranch Company, Los Angeles, Calif.', a corporation of California Application February 3, 1934, Serial No. 709,622

6 Claims.

L: movable from the hearse, which is of particular utility in loading or unloading the hearse. It is in conjunction with the side-loading hearse art that I will particularly describe my invention, without in any way limiting myself thereto, since it might be employed in other types of vehicles or in other connections.

In the ordinary type of side-loading hearse, the vehicle body is provided with a side door through which the hearse is loaded or unloaded, the casket being received and supported in the hearse by a platform adapted to rotate from a longitudinal position in the hearse to a transverse position in which an end thereof projects through the side door. The usual platform is secured to the fioor of the hearse in such a manner that it may rotate between these two positions,

but is not detachable, and the casket must be carried to and carefully placed thereon. A chief disadvantage of this customary form of sideloading hearse lies in the fact that the casket must be placed carefully on the platform by the pallbearers who are usually unfamiliar with handling a casket and with the side-loading hearse mechanism, and since the platform merely extends a slight distance beyond the side of the hearse it often happens that the pallbearers have considerable difiiculty in positioning the casket thereon. This frequently causes confusion among the pallbearers, and tends to mar the solemnity of the occasion.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide a side-loading hearse having a readily detachable platform which may be conveniently loaded when it is detached from the hearse, and which may be reinserted readily into the hearse.

In the ordinary type of side-loading hearse the platform usually rotates on a pivot, and substantially all of the Weight of the casket exerts a thrust on the pivot bearing to cause frictional Wear in the bearing and making rotation of the platform difficult.

It is an object of my invention to reduce the thrust pressure on the pivot bearing of the platform as the platform is rotated into the hearse, and more specifically to shift the center of weight of the casket and platform towards the pivot as the platform is rotated into the hearse, which I accomplish by wheel means.

It is a further object of my invention to provide handle means on the casket platform so that it may be carried readily to and from the hearse when detached therefrom.

It is a further object of my invention to provide novel means for automatically guiding the platform into the hearse.

A further object of my invention lies in the provision of a novel locking means for retaining the platform in longitudinal position within the hearse.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be made evident hereinafter.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top sectional view of a hearse embodying my invention.

Fig. is a plan view of the bottom of the detachable platform of my invention.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a view partly in section taken on the line i-d of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional View taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a plan view taken on the line 66 of Fig. 5.

Referring to Fig. l of the drawings, I show a side-loading hearse H) of standard body construction having a body ll provided in its side with a doorway l2 and having a floor l3. A guide means I4 is secured to the floor l3 by any suitable means, such as described hereinafter, and is comprised of a rearward guide track and a forward guide track IS. The rearward guide track l5, as best shown in Fig. 5, is formed by a pair of complementary track members ll defining a slot l8 and a central space I9, the track members being secured to the floor I3 by screws passing through an angle face 2| on the track H. The guide track I 5 extends rearwardly in the body II and has a closed inner end 22, being curved in its outer portion 23 towards the doorway l2. The track members H are curved apart at their outer ends 24 to form a bell-shaped opening 25, the purpose of which will be described hereinafter.

The forward guide track I6 has a U-shaped portion 26 closed at its inner end 21, the forward leg 28 of the U extending towards the forward end of the doorway 12.

The guide tracks 15 and I6 are provided with separate locking means 30 and 3|, the locking means 30 being positioned at the inner end of the bell-shaped space of the guide track l5, and the locking means 3| being positioned adjacent the inner end 21 of the guide track 16.

The locking means 39 and 3| may be of any of ear members 32 pivoted to the upper surface of the track l'l byv pivot pins 33 and provided with arcuate faces 34 adapted to project inwardly to substantially close the slot I8. U-shaped spring members 35have one end secured to the ears 32, such as by welding, and have an outer end 38 adapted to engage a pin 31 fixed in the upper surface of the track ll. Stops 38 are provided to prevent the ears 32 from rotating into engagement with one another and to maintain the ears under tension by means of the spring members 35.

A platform means 40 is provided to support a load in the hearse Ill and is adapted to be moved into or out of the hearse through the side doorway-l2, the platform having a length somewhat greater than and a width somewhat less than the width of the hearse, and being approximately the length of an'adult casket. The platform 40 is substantially rectangular in shape and has a plain upper surface 4! and longitudinal handles 42 fixed to the sides thereof by brackets 43, and

is provided on its under surface 44 with friction reducing means 45 which also act as support means for the platform in conjunction with the tracks l1. Although any suitable friction reducing means might be employed in my invention I prefer to use a plurality of casters 46 which may be pivoted on the platform by any standard construction. The casters 46 positioned near the inner end 4'! of the platform 40 have relativelysmall rollers 48, the caster positioned midway on the platform has a roller 49 slightly larger than the roller 48, and the caster positioned adjacent the outer end 50 of the platform has a roller 5! slightly larger than the roller 49. It is to be noted that the rollers 48, 49 and 5| increase in size towards the outer end of the platform 49, the purpose of which will be described hereinafter.

. Pivot means 55 are provided on the under surface 44 of the platform 40 and are comprised of inner and outer pivots 56 nad 56a of substantially similar construction. As best shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the pivot 55 has a vertical shaft 51 secured to a plate 58screwed to the under surface 44 of the platform 49, the shaft 51 being adapted to project into the slot I8 of the track I5. The shaft 51 has a lower pin portion 60 formed thereon threaded at its lower end to receive a nut 61 adapted to fix a ball bearing element 62 on the shaft. The ball bearing element 62 has an annular, collar 63 shrunk on the portion 60 adapted to position ball bearings 64 in a bearing race 55 rotatably held on the portion 60 by a wear ring 66 engaged by the nut M which may be tightened to adjust the frictional engagement of the ball bearing element and the shaft. The ball bearings 64 project above the annular collar 53 and are adapted to rotatably engage the under surfaces 61 of the track members I! to provide a bearing pivot structure.

In operation, when it is desired to place the platform 40 in the body Hi, the inner end of the platform is moved through the doorway l2 so that the inner pivot 55 enters the bell-shaped opening of the guide track l5, as shown in dotted lines 70 of Fig. 1. The platform is then moved inwardly on the inner rollers 48 of the casters 46, the shaft 51 of the pivot 56 being guided by the track 15. When the shaft 51 engages the ears 32 of the locking means 39 a slight additional inward pressure on the platform will cause the shaft 51 to spread the ears 32 outwardly against the action of the spring members 35 to permit the passage of the shaft therebetween. During this portion of the movement of the platform substantially all its weight is'supported on the rollers 48 and by an upward thrust on the bearing element 62 riding in the track 11, the rollers act as a fulcrum on which the weight of the platform pivots. Upon further inward movement of the platform, the roller 49 contacts the floor 13 of the body H, and by a slight raising movement of the platform part of its weight can be shifted from the rollers 48 to the roller 49 due to the larger diameter of the roller 49. This shift in weight onto the roller 49 decreases the upward pressure with which the bearing element 62 bears against the under surfaces 67 of the tracks IT, so as to reduce the friction between the bearing element 62 and the tracks I1, thus requiring less force to rotate the platform as it is moved inwardly. Further inward movement of the platform 40 causes the outer pivot 56a to engage the forwardly extending leg l6 of the track 26which thereafter guides the movement of the pivot 5611 into the U-shaped portion of the track through the locking means 3|, similarly to the passage of the pivot 55 through the locking means 30.

When the pivot 56a passes through the locking,

' sirable merely to swing the platform to a position in which it partially extends through the doorway 12. The principal function of the rearward locking means is to prevent the pivot 55 from unexpectedly becoming detached fromfthe guide track I5 when the platform 4|] is being loaded or unloaded from the position indicated by dotted lines 3211 of Fig. 1.

I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, but it is to be understood that I do not intend to' limit myself thereto'because various types of mechanism may be substituted for the specific details of my invention Without departing from the spirit thereof.

It is also apparent that my invention may be used in automotive vehicles other than hearses, such as ambulances and the like, and I do not intend to limit myself to the side-loading hearse art. For example, a stretcher might well be substituted for the platform 40 without detracting from my invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a hearse, the combination of: a body having 'a length somewhat greater than and a width somewhat less than the length of an adult casket to be transported, said body'having a doorway in the side thereof; a platform normally disposed in longitudinal position within said hearse and movable to a transverse position in which it partially extends from said hearse through said doorway; guide means associated with said body; pivot means associated with said platform and adaptedto cooperate with said guide means to guide said platform from said longitudinal position to said transverse position, said pivot means exerting an upward pressure on said guide means; and a plurality of wheels of different sizes so arranged as to decrease said pressure as said platform is moved from said transverse position to said longitudinal position.

2. In a hearse, the combination of: a body having a length somewhat greater than and a width somewhat less than the length of an adult casket to be transported, said body having a doorway in the side thereof; a platform normally disposed in longitudinal position within said hearse and movable through said doorway so as to be removed from said hearse; a plurality of guide tracks in said body, said guide tracks being open at one end; a plurality of pivots associated with said platform, each one of said pivots being adapted to enter one of said guide tracks through said open ends thereof to positively guide said platform into said body in a predetermined path; and means for decreasing the upward thrust on one of said pivots as said platform is moved through said doorway and into said body.

3. In a hearse, the combination of: a body having a length somewhat greater than and a width somewhat less than the length of an adult casket to be transported, said body having an opening in the side thereof; a rear guide track in said body having a bell-shaped opening at the outer end thereof; a forward guide track in said body having a bell-shaped opening at the outer end thereof; a casket platform; a first pivot on said platform adapted to enter the said opening of said rear guide track; and a second pivot on said platform adapted to enter the said opening of said forward guide track, said guide tracks being adapted to turn said platform from transverse to longitudinal position within said body as said platform is inserted into said hearse.

4. In a vehicle of the class described, the combination of: a body having a doorway in the side thereof; a casket platform normally in retracted longitudinal position within said body and adapted to be swung to a transverse position in which an end thereof projects through said doorway;

and locking means adapted to prevent said platform from moving completely through said doorway, said locking means being readily releasable so as to permit the ready removal of said platform from said body through said doorway.

5. In a vehicle of the class described, the combination of: a body having a length somewhat greater than and a width somewhat less than the length of an adult casket to be transported, said body having an opening in the side thereof; a casket platform adapted to be normally retracted within said body in longitudinal position relative thereto; means for locking said platform in said retracted position; guide means adapted to guide said platform from said retracted position to a transverse position in which an end of said platform projects through said doorway; and transverse locking means for locking said platform in said transverse position so as to prevent said platform from moving farther out through said doorway, said transverse locking means being releasable to permit the ready removal of said platform from said body through said doorway.

6. In a vehicle of the class described, the combination of a vehicle body having a length somewhat greater than and a width somewhat less than the length of an adult human body to be transported, said vehicle body having a doorway in the side thereof; supporting means adapted to support said human body, said supporting means having a length somewhat greater than the width of said vehicle body; guide means associated with said vehicle and adapted to cooperate with said supporting means to guide said supporting means from a position wholly within said vehicle to a transverse position in which an end of said supporting means projects through said doorway; and locking means adapted to prevent said supporting means from moving completely through said doorway, said locking means being readily releasable to permit said supporting means to be moved completely through said doorway and detached from said vehicle.

FORD HARRIS, J a. 

